I had my ears pierced on Thursday night, man am I ticked off. They itch and are swollen. I am cleaning them 4 times a day. The posts that are in them are so short, they feel like they are cutting into my ear lobes. Anyone know where I can find so longer posts? Is there such a thing? I mean, I know my earlobes are fat but Jeeez!

By Cat on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 01:43 pm:

You're probably over cleaning them. Get some sea salts and make a "soak" for your ear lobes. Mix water:sea salts 10:1 and put it in a small cup or glass and then hold it up to you ear lobe so it can soak. Twice a day is plenty. If you clean them more often you don't give them a chance to heal. Did you have them pierced with a gun or a needle? If you had them done with a gun you've got the standard piercing ear rings that lock. The posts are a little bigger (diameter) than anything you'd buy in the store. If you had them done with a needle ask who ever did it what size they are (most standard ear rings are 20 gauge, some are 18 gauge). For one of my piercings (cartalige on upper ear) I finally had to get an 18 gauge curved barbell because the standard piercing ear ring was too tight and was trapping stuff against my ear and not letting it heal properly (gross, I know--sorry). I haven't had any trouble with it since. Ear lobes typically take 6-8 weeks to heal. The itching you're feeling is normal. Very annoying, I know, but normal. The swelling is normal, too. Think about it. You've put something foreign in your body and your body doesn't like it. It'll get used to it but for now it's trying to get rid of it. Be patient. Sorry you're having a hard time with this. Is it your first piercing? I've got three in each ear lobe, one cartalige on my left ear, tragus on my right ear, left eyebrow and my navel. The hardest ones to heal were the cart and the one of the third set on the ear lobes (grazed the cart on one side). Happy healing and Hugs!

By Nanaoie on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 01:48 pm:

Thanks for the ideas.....I will go get some sea salts today! Do you think it would be better to wear small dangling ones instead of posts? That way the air could get to both side?. Thanks!

By Cat on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 02:00 pm:

Probably not, only because the part going through the ear on most dangling ear rings are much smaller than standard posts. If your ears heal with those you will have trouble getting standard posts in later. You could go with CBR (captive bead rings) or a curved barbell (they have some that are U shaped with beads on each end). You can get either at WalMart. My 12yo ds has a spiked curved barbell (it has spikes on each end instead of beads). Let me know what you find. There's also something called H2Ocean that is a sea salt spray made specifically for piercings. You usually have to go to a piercing place for that. Good luck!

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 02:16 pm:

To add to Cat's comments... It has been a long time since I've gotten my ears pierced, but you're supposed to keep the piercing studs in for several weeks before changing earrings. If you take them out and/or change to regular earrings before then the holes will not form correctly and you'll have problems. It's normal for your lobes to be tender and sore at first. The skin has been punctured and needs to heal. Hang in there!

By Karen~moderator on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 05:32 pm:

And to add another comment - I had my 3rd holes done in my earlobes a couple of years ago and they took 6 months to heal completely!!

The only other piercing I have that took that long was my belly button - it took 9 months!

By Tripletmom on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 09:56 pm:

Are you sure you're not allergic to the metal?I always used peroxide on my ears to clean them.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 10:04 pm:

When I got my third holes in my ears (which have long been closed now) it also took them a long time to heal.

When I had the cartilage pierced in one ear (again, many moons ago) I think I might have over-cleaned them like Cat mentioned. I cleaned them constantly for fear of infection, and within 4-5 days my ear was so red and swollen I actually had my sister take the earring out and let it close. I've also always used peroxide.

I hope it feels better soon!

By Karen~moderator on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 07:39 am:

Peroxide actually destroys the new growth of skin cells. Salt water is the best way to go, or a mild antiseptic.

By Cat on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 07:46 am:

Ditto Karen. They don't recommend peroxide. HOWEVER, I did resort to using it for my navel piercing after it was being stubborn. It did the trick. I'd still try the sea salts first (and I did with that piercing). Having a sensitivity to the metal is a possibility. Do you know what the posts are? There's lots out there. There's titanium, 14k gold, sterling silver, gold overlay (thin layer of gold over metal) and some others. What did you find yesterday?

By Nanaoie on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 01:10 pm:

The posts were sterling silver, I HAD to take them out. This is so gross but, my ears swelled so bad that the tips of the posts were inside the skin EWW!!!...I could not handle it anymore.I did the salt soak but, they just kept burning and swelling. I guess I had an allergic reation to them. It bums me out, there are so many cute earings out there....Oh well. Thank you all for your advice. Maybe I can try again sometime with some other kind of post. As for now, I am hiding my ears!

By Cat on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 01:27 pm:

Watch them closely. They usually recommend leaving the ear rings in if there's an infection present because it can drain through the holes. Taking them out lets the holes close and traps the infection. That's IF that's what it was. If it was a sensitivity you should be fine. Just watch for signs of infections (red streaks, warmth, swelling that doesn't go down, etc) and if you get concerned go see your doc. Sorry they didn't work out.

By Crystal915 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 01:01 am:

Did you have them pierced at a piercing and tattoo studio, or at a place in the mall? If you decide to get them pierced again I highly recommend going to a reputable studio, with a professional piercer. I've had several piercings, and a couple of them have gotten infected during healing, but usually sea salts will clear it up. An advantage to going to a piercer is they can use hoops, which allow you more room to slide the jewelry through the hole while cleaning. Over-cleaning is as bad as not cleaning enough, and a simple anti-bacterial soap while in the shower is usually all you need. On a sidenote, many people can only wear gold in piercings, however gold actually irritates me more than silver. It's all about your body's individual reaction to it.